A polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) display usually comprises two transparent plates with electrodes placed opposing each other, separated by using spacers. A thin film of PDLC is enclosed between the two plates. The PDLC film may be up to 200 microns thick, but usually having a thickness of between 2 microns and 50 microns. The cell is hermetically sealed in order to eliminate oxygen and moisture, both of which may chemically attack the liquid crystals. A thorough review of the PDLC technologies can be found in the book “Liquid Crystal Dispersions” by P. S. Drzaic (1995).
A PDLC typically consists of micron-size droplets of a low-molecular-weight nematic liquid crystal dispersed in a polymer binder. The nematic droplets strongly scatter light and the material has a white opaque or translucent appearance (“off state”). When a voltage difference is imposed between the two electrodes (“on state”), the electric field aligns the droplets such that the ordinary refractive index of the liquid crystal nearly matches that of the isotropic polymer matrix, substantially reducing the scattering power of the droplets, and thus allowing light to transmit through. In the on state, the cell thus appears clear or transparent, in the off state it appears opaque.
In a guest-host PDLC display, a dye, particularly a pleochroic or dichroic dye, is added as a guest to the liquid crystal to produce a high color contrast display. For example, because the dye molecules have a property to orientate parallel to the liquid crystal molecules, if a dichroic dye having a bar-shaped structure is added to the liquid crystal, the direction of the dye molecules also changes if the molecular direction of the liquid crystal is changed by applying an electric field on the opposing electrodes. Because this dye is made colored or not depending on the orientation direction, it is possible to switch between a colored state (“off state”) and a colorless state (“on state”) by applying a voltage on the two electrodes. The use of dichroic or pleochroic dyes in guest-host PDLC displays to improve the contrast ratio is well known in the art.
A PDLC display may be transmissive and/or reflective. A transmissive PDLC display has an internal illumination source. Imposing a voltage on the two electrodes allows light to pass through the cell. A typical example of a transmissive PDLC display is a PDLC overhead projector. Reflective PDLC displays typically contain a reflective black or colored filter which becomes visible in the transparent state. Reflective PDLC displays may be found in PDA (personal digital assistant) devices. Transmissive and reflective PDLC displays are particularly attractive because polarizers are eliminated. Polarizers substantially reduce light and decrease brightness of both direct view and projection displays. The absence of polarizers also gives a better viewing angle.
The PDLC displays prepared by prior art processes have many shortcomings. For example, the polymer dispersed liquid crystals typically have droplets of very broad particle size distribution, which results in significant hysteresis, higher operation voltage, poor contrast ratio, undesirable red bleed through, and low level of multiplexing. However, the hysteresis of PDLC films must be low to show reproducible gray scales, and low voltage operation and high contrast ratio of the device is essential for most PDA applications. Monodispersed liquid crystal particles in the micron size range have been taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,174, (Clikeman, et al.) U.S. Pat. No. 5,976,405 (Clikeman, et al.), and U.S. Pat. No. 6,037,058 (Clikeman, et al.) to reduce the hysteresis and operation voltage, and improve the level of multiplexity. The contrast ratio of PDLC device prepared from the monodispersed particles remains low for most applications. To improve the contrast ratio without trade off in the thickness of the PDLC film and operation voltage, guest dyes preferably, pleochroic dyes or dichroic dyes are needed. However, the prior art processes do not allow for the precise enclosure of a high concentration of guest dyes in the liquid crystal phase during the manufacturing process, such that only a low concentration of dyes may be encapsulated in the monodispersed polymer particles. Some guest dyes may be left outside of the particles, thereby resulting in an increase in Dmin and a lower contrast ratio.
It is highly desirable to create monodispered liquid crystal domains, which would alleviate the requirement of high operation voltage, allow high contrast ratio and high level of multiplexing, and reduce hysteresis.